The Avadi-headquartered Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), has secured two major contracts from the Indian Army worth a combined ₹2,565.46 crore. The deal involves the complete overhaul of 40 T-90 main battle tanks and 100 BMP-II infantry combat vehicles, reaffirming AVNL’s crucial role in sustaining India’s mechanised forces.

he Avadi-headquartered Defence Public Sector Undertaking is responsible for entire Product Life Cycle PLC) covering manufacturing, sustenance, of these combat vehicles. The contracts cover complete restoration, system upgrades and performance enhancements to extend and ensure the service life and reliability of the platforms.

The contracts are comprehensive in scope, covering full restoration, performance upgrades, and system enhancements, thereby extending the operational life and reliability of the Indian Army’s frontline platforms. These initiatives fall within AVNL’s mandate for the entire product life cycle (PLC) of armoured fighting vehicles, including design-linked manufacturing, repair, upgrades, and long-term sustenance.

AVNL currently has an overhaul capacity of 120 T-series tanks annually, but recognising the Army’s growing demand, it is actively expanding that capacity to 230 tanks per year. Such scaling up ensures the Army’s ageing but potent T-series platforms remain battleworthy until the deployment of next-generation systems.

The official rationale behind this program is to maximise utilisation of existing assets and reduce import reliance, enabling cost-effective force modernisation. With indigenous overhaul expertise, the Army avoids dependencies on foreign repair chains while securing timely fleet availability at higher combat readiness.

The work is particularly crucial because the T-90 MBT forms the backbone of India’s strike corps and armoured divisions, while the BMP-II vehicles remain vital as mechanised infantry carriers in pivot corps and rapid-reaction units.

Their functional extension provides a necessary bridge as the Army awaits the induction of Future Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICV), the light tank project, and other upcoming indigenous armoured platforms.

This deal represents strategic continuity for mechanised forces, maintaining momentum between legacy fleet modernisation and next-generation system introduction. It also highlights the growing consolidation of India’s indigenous armoured production and sustainment ecosystem, with AVNL emerging as a cornerstone entity in ensuring operational availability and combat effectiveness for decades ahead.

Agencies